In its 5th SEPA progress report, (PDF download) the European System of Central Banks (The Eurosystem), appears disappointed with progress on SEPA. Entitled “Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) From Concept to Reality”, the report is written in the diplomatic language favoured by the ECB. Decoded, it laments a range of gaps which will likely inhibit or delay success.
Three particular areas need attention:
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Direct debits
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Card schemes and card payments
Communications to stakeholders
Direct Debits. The Eurosystem now fully accepts that a SEPA direct debit will not be a reality until the Payment Services Directive is transposed into the national legislation of EU countries (should be completed by Nov 2009). It wants complete clarity regarding the nature of the basic product to be offered to be published by Dec 2007, and it wants to ensure that the product will be easy to use, ensuring acceptance by corporates and consumers alike.
Cards. While accepting that co-branded (cards which have more than one brand, including an international brand such as Maestro) cards are SEPA-compliant, the Eurosystem wants to see the emergence of at least one European debit card brand.
Communications. One of the most basic pieces of communication which should be done is the publication of concrete plans for SEPA, and the ECB requests that this should be done by the end of this year (2007). A SEPA plan for
